1 And summoning his twelve disciples he gave them power over unclean spirits, power to cast them out and also to heal every disease and every ailment. 2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, James the son of Zebedaeus and John his brother, 3 Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the taxgatherer, James the son of Alphaeus and Lebbaeus whose surname is Thaddaeus, 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.
5 These twelve men Jesus despatched with the following instructions, "Do not go among the Gentiles, and do not enter a Samaritan town, 6 rather make your way to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And preach as you go, tell men, 'The Reign of heaven is near.' 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out daemons; give without paying, as you have got without paying; 9 you are not to take gold or silver or coppers in your girdle, 10 nor a wallet for the road, nor two shirts, nor sandals, nor stick ??the workman deserves his rations.
11 Whatever town or village you go into, find out a deserving inhabitant and stay with him till you leave. 12 When you enter the house, salute it; 13 if the household is deserving, let your peace rest on it; but if the household is undeserving, let your peace return to you. 14 Whoever will not receive you or listen to your message, leave that house or town and shake off the very dust from your feet. 15 I tell you truly, on the day of judgment it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorra than for that town.
16 I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be wise like serpents and guileless like doves. 17 Beware of men, they will hand you over to sanhedrins and scourge you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be haled before governors and kings for my sake ??it will be a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. 19 Now, when they bring you up for trial, do not trouble yourselves about how to speak or what to say; what you are to say will come to you at the moment, 20 for you are not the speakers, it is the Spirit of your Father that is speaking through you.
21 Brother will betray brother to death, the father will betray his child, children will rise against their parents and put them to death, 22 and you will be hated by all men on account of my name; but he will be saved who holds out to the very end. 23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; truly I tell you, you will not have covered the towns of Israel before the Son of man arrives. 24 A scholar is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his lord; 25 enough for the scholar to fare like his teacher, and the servant like his lord. If men have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they miscall his servants!
26 Fear them not: ??nothing is veiled that shall not be revealed, or hidden that shall not be known; 27 what I tell you in the dark, you must utter in the open, what you hear in a whisper you must proclaim on the housetop. 28 Have no fear of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul: rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground unless your Father wills it. 30 The very hairs on your head are all numbered; 31 fear not, then, you are worth far more than sparrows!
32 Everyone who will acknowledge me before men, I will acknowledge him before my Father in heaven; 33 and whoever will disown me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven. 34 Do not imagine I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace but a sword. 35 I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36 yes, a man's own household will be his enemies.
37 He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me: 38 he who will not take his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. 39 He who has found his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.
40 He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives Him who sent me. 41 He who receives a prophet because he is a prophet, will receive a prophet's reward; he who receives a good man because he is good, will receive a good man's reward. 42 And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, I tell you, he shall not lose his reward."